Ad Platform Tracker Skill

Use this skill whenever the user needs to track, analyze, or respond to advertising platform changes across Meta (Facebook/Instagram), Google Ads, or competi...

Security Scan

The skill is an instruction-only tracker for Meta/Google ads and competitor intelligence; its instructions, data sources, and behavior align with that purpose and do not request unexplained system access or credentials.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description match the actual instructions: the skill is focused on platform change tracking, compliance, and competitive ad analysis. It references official blogs, transparency centers, Ads Library APIs, and competitive intelligence tools — all consistent with its stated purpose.

Instruction Scope

The SKILL.md instructs the agent to monitor official blogs, industry sources, and public ad libraries and to use third-party web-scraper skills (Firecrawl, Apify). This is coherent for the task, but it does mean the agent will perform network scraping and may call external actors/skills; the instructions do not direct the agent to read local files or other unrelated secrets. Users should be aware scraping and API calls may require separate credentials and may be subject to rate limits and platform terms of service.

Install Mechanism

No install spec and no code files — instruction-only. Nothing is written to disk or downloaded by the skill itself, which reduces install-time risk.

Credentials

The skill declares no required env vars or primary credential, but examples show using a Meta Graph API access token and external Apify actors. This is proportionate to competitor/ad-library queries, but consumers should expect to provide any API tokens or third-party credentials explicitly when invoking scraping/API flows (they are not implicitly declared).

Persistence & Privilege

always:false and no requests to modify system or other skills. The skill does not request permanent/system-level presence or elevated privileges.

Assessment

This skill is coherent with its advertised purpose: it compiles public platform updates, policy/compliance guidance, and competitive ad intelligence and instructs the agent to use web-scraping and public APIs. Before enabling it: (1) confirm whether you or your organization will supply any API tokens (Meta Graph API or Apify) when the agent needs them — the skill does not declare required env vars; (2) review and approve the external scraper skills (Firecrawl/Apify) the agent will call, since those actors perform network I/O and may store data; (3) avoid letting the agent scrape non-public/internal pages or include sensitive credentials in scraped payloads; (4) verify scraping complies with platform Terms of Service and regional laws for competitive intelligence; and (5) if you allow autonomous invocation, consider restricting it from running large-scale scrapes or from storing credentials persistently. Overall the skill appears legitimate and proportionate, but exercise normal operational caution around API keys, scraper actors, and legal compliance when gathering competitor data.

A comprehensive skill for tracking algorithm changes, policy updates, compliance requirements, and competitive intelligence across Meta and Google Ads platforms.

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Four Tracking Modules

Module	File	Purpose
Meta Algorithm & Policy	references/meta-tracker.md	Meta ad system changes, Andromeda, features
Google Ads Algorithm & Policy	references/google-tracker.md	PMax, Smart Bidding, AI Max, policy changes
Regulatory & Compliance	references/compliance-tracker.md	GDPR, CCPA, iOS privacy, ad policies
Competitive Intelligence	references/competitive-tracker.md	Competitor ads, benchmarks, best practices

When to load each file:

• Meta question → load meta-tracker.md
• Google Ads question → load google-tracker.md
• Compliance/privacy/policy question → load compliance-tracker.md
• Competitor/benchmarking question → load competitive-tracker.md
• General audit or "check everything" → load all four

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Quick Assessment Framework

When a user reports a campaign issue or asks "why did X change?", run through this:

1. Platform Change? → Check the relevant tracker file for recent algorithm/feature updates
2. Compliance Risk? → Check if account/vertical is in a sensitive category (health, finance, political)
3. Creative Fatigue? → For Meta: check creative diversity, similarity scores, refresh cycle
4. Structural Issue? → For Google PMax: check channel reporting, negative keywords, asset quality
5. Competitive Shift? → Check if competitors changed messaging, offers, or formats

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Output Templates

Daily Update Digest

DATE: [date]
PLATFORM: Meta / Google / Both
CHANGE: [what changed]
SEVERITY: Critical / High / Medium / Low
IMPACT DATE: [when it takes effect]
AFFECTED: [all accounts / specific verticals / regions]
RECOMMENDED ACTION: [what to do]

Campaign Impact Assessment

UPDATE: [name of update]
CURRENT CAMPAIGN STATUS: [affected / not affected]
METRICS AT RISK: [ROAS, CPM, CPA, reach, etc.]
URGENCY: [act now / act within 30 days / monitor]
SPECIFIC CHANGES NEEDED: [list]

Compliance Alert

REGULATION: [GDPR / CCPA / Meta Policy / Google Policy]
RISK LEVEL: High / Medium / Low
DEADLINE: [compliance required by]
AFFECTED CAMPAIGNS: [list]
REMEDIATION STEPS: [numbered list]

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Data Sources to Monitor

Meta Official:

• Meta for Business blog: https://www.facebook.com/business/news
• Meta Transparency Center: https://transparency.fb.com/
• Meta Ads Library: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library
• Meta Graph API changelog: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/graph-api/changelog

Google Official:

• Google Ads blog: https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/
• Google Ads Help Center: https://support.google.com/google-ads
• Google Ads Developer Blog: https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/
• Google Marketing Live announcements (annual, May)

Industry Sources (fast-track updates):

• Jon Loomer Digital (Meta expert): https://jonloomer.com
• Social Media Examiner: https://socialmediaexaminer.com
• Search Engine Journal (Google Ads): https://searchenginejournal.com
• WordStream / Search Engine Land: https://wordstream.com
• Foxwell Digital (Meta policy specialist): https://foxwelldigital.com

Competitive Intelligence:

• Meta Ads Library API: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/api/
• Google Ads Transparency Center: https://adstransparency.google.com/

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Scraping Strategy

When asked to monitor or scrape platform updates, use the web-scraper skill (Firecrawl or Apify) to:

1. Official blogs → Firecrawl /crawl on Meta/Google blog URLs, filter for last 7 days
2. Meta Ads Library → Apify actor apify/facebook-ads-scraper for competitor ads
3. Google Ads Transparency → Firecrawl /scrape on specific advertiser pages
4. Industry blogs → Firecrawl /search for recent updates ("Meta algorithm update 2025")
5. RSS feeds → Firecrawl /scrape on RSS feed URLs for real-time monitoring

# Example: Monitor Meta blog for updates in last 7 days
firecrawl_payload = {
    "url": "https://www.facebook.com/business/news",
    "formats": ["markdown"],
    "onlyMainContent": True,
}

# Example: Search for recent Google Ads changes
firecrawl_search = {
    "query": "Google Ads Performance Max update 2025",
    "limit": 10,
    "scrapeOptions": { "formats": ["markdown"] }
}

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Current State of Knowledge (as of early 2026)

Meta — Critical Facts

• Andromeda fully rolled out globally October 2025 — creative is now the primary targeting mechanism
• Andromeda uses NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchip, 10,000x increase in model capacity vs. predecessor
• Engaged-view window changed from 10s → 5s in 2025
• Value Rules expanded to Leads objective
• Threads Feed placement added — test for scaling
• Lookalike restrictions on health/finance data (Sept 2025)
• Creative similarity scoring active — too-similar ads punished with higher CPMs
• Sensitive category blocking (health, finance) started January 2025 — blocks mid/lower funnel events
• Meta AI chatbot personalization rolled out Dec 16, 2025 (excluding EU/UK/South Korea)

Google Ads — Critical Facts

• PMax channel-level reporting went live November 2025 for all accounts
• Full Search Terms Reporting in PMax added in 2025
• Campaign-level negative keywords (10k limit) added January 2025
• Search themes expanded from 25 → 50 per asset group
• AI Max launched at Google Marketing Live May 2025 (new search campaign type)
• Power Pack = PMax + Demand Gen + AI Max (Google's new recommended setup)
• Demand Gen showed 26% conversion increase in tests
• Waze ads inventory added to PMax store goals (US only, Nov 2025)
• First-party audience exclusions added to PMax (2026 rollout)
• Budget projection report added to PMax

Compliance — Critical Facts

• 19 US state privacy laws in effect by 2025
• Meta blocks custom audiences with sensitive attributes (health/finance) as of Sept 2025
• GDPR: requires opt-in, up to €20M or 4% global revenue fines
• CCPA/CPRA: opt-out model; requires "Do Not Sell" link
• Health/wellness brands: Add to Cart and Purchase events blocked for optimization (Jan 2025)
• Financial services: new mandatory Special Ad Category (Jan 14, 2025)
• Political ads: "Paid for by" disclaimer required, tighter targeting restrictions

For full deep-dive detail on any module, load the relevant reference file.